New England Fall Foliage | 2019 Update
Could Hurricane Dorian or a rash of banded tussock moth caterpillars impact this year’s foliage? Learn our latest predictions in our fall forecast update.
By Jim Salge|Sep 12 2019|
Peak Fall Foliage In Northern New England Is Just a Few Weeks Away
Credit: Jim Salge
Peak Fall Foliage In Northern New England Is Just a Few Weeks Away
Credit: Jim SalgeCredit: Jim Salge Regardless of how healthy the forests are, the weather leading into autumn can make or break the season. We need warm, sunny days and cool, crisp nights to both kick-start the colors and make them pop. Too much rain, wind, or cloudiness will mute the colors and limit the season. And since there are always unresolved weather questions in our initial August forecasts, we wanted to update our outlook now, just a few weeks from peak.
2019 New England Fall Foliage Risk Factors
In the past few weeks we have avoided some significant risk factors. For instance, if rainfall and humidity had remained high as temperatures began to cool, we could have been looking at a pretty significant outbreak of anthracnose — a leaf-browning fungus that began to flourish in some areas after our wet spring — holding back the best colors.
Late Summer Rainfall Was Sporadic and Uneven Across New England.
Credit: Northeast Regional Climate CenterCredit: Northeast Regional Climate Center However, outside of Downeast Maine and a few other places, rainfall in New England has been limited (the drought monitor even shows some areas of abnormal dryness). Drier falls tend to have more intense colors; the tradeoff is that leaves can move through peak more quickly. We will be monitoring this unexpected development as we move into autumn.
Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillars Are Abundant As Autumn Approaches
Credit: Jim SalgeCredit: Jim Salge
2019 New England Fall Foliage Update
Looking ahead, the outlooks for the next couple of weeks continue to call for above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall. This can be a good combination for fall foliage if humidity remains low and temperatures fall off significantly at night. We are still calling for a later-than-average foliage show, but a few cool nights in the next week or so might move the timing closer to normal, especially in the far north.
Temperatures Are Forecast To Be Above Normal Through The End Of September, When Peak Begins
Credit: NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Traveling to New England is tempting, fall is my favorite season. The only ick is that I don’t have a passport to cross the border. Hopefully the weather forecast would be the same in Montreal, Quebec *grin*
Excellent analysis and prediction of Fall colors.
Have been reading YANKEE since ‘40s. It keeps getting better and better.
Thanks for a very in-depth update on the foliage for this fall. Hope it is a spectacular Columbus Day weekend for our Anniversary trip!
I keep checking with your website to see how our fall show (of beautiful colors) will be once we go on vacation! Thanks for the great updates!
I will be checking this site on a daily basis until we arrive in mid-October! We will be flying in from West Texas (where fall is almost nonexistent & we can’t wait to take in the beauty of your area!
Really looking forward to upcoming trip to start from Texas on Sept 30. Plan on two glorious weeks up in New England. Save us some lobster rolls.
Traveling from Rhode Island (west) on Oct. 12 would you pls advise a driving trip to see the fall foliage in either CT, MA or VT in that month? Thank You
We are arriving on September 26 through October 9, 2019. Is this too early or are we right on time? Thank you for the information!
We’ll be traveling to the White Mts the first week of October trying to avoid the Columbus Day crowds. Keeping our fingers crossed for peak to be on time. If not we’ll go further north. Thanks for the update! ????????????
As retired residents of the Great Smoky Mountains (East TN), we are looking forward to leaving early next week for a month-long trip through upstate NY, NH, VT and MA, hoping to catch some of your New England spectacular fall colors. I’ve never seen New England, and we know our own mountains are spectacular enough to bring a large yearly crop of “leaf people” from all over the Southeast, so we can only imagine the intense beauty of a New England fall compared with our own. Severe drought here, though, is causing many of our maple leaves to dry up and fall without ever changing color, so we’re hoping it’s much wetter in New England. As for the leaf color, please hold on — we’re coming!!